Opening Prayer
“You are my portion, Lord,” says my soul; Therefore I will wait for you. You are good to those who wait for you; to the soul who seeks you. It is good to hope silently for Your salvation. -Lamentations 3:24-26 (Silent reflection) Prayer of the Bible Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge. I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord; apart from you, I have no good thing." Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. -Psalm 16: 1-2, 5-11 (Free expression of praise and thanksgiving to God) Confession of Sin You do not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is Your love for those who fear You; as far as the east is from the west, so far have You removed our transgressions from us. -Psalm 103: 10-12 (Time of silence for confession of sin) The Words of Jesus I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” -John 16:33 (Think deeply on these life-giving words of Jesus) Prayers for Ourselves and Others Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. -Romans 12:12 (Time to bring before God our own needs and the needs of others) Closing Prayer From prayer that asks that I should be sheltered from winds that beat on Thee. From fearing when I should aspire, from faltering when I should climb higher, from silken self, O captain, free Your soldier who would follow Thee. From subtle love of softening things, from easy choices, weakenings...Not thus are spirits fortified, not this way went the Crucified...From all that dims Your Calvary, O lamb of God, deliver me. Give me a love that leads the way, the faith that nothing can dismay, the hope no disappointments tire, the passion that will burn like fire. Let me not sink to be a clod. Make me Thy fuel, O Flame of God. -Amy Carmichael (1867-1951) |